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In the last few weeks, a renewed bout of legal action from Nintendo has led to the shutdown of a handful of ROM sites, which previously let users download digital, emulation-ready copies of classic games. This has, in turn, led to a lot of good discussion about the positive and negative effects this kind of ROM collection and distribution has brought to the gaming community.
From a legal standpoint, it's hard to defend sites that revolve around unlimited downloads of copyrighted games. As attorney Michael Lee put it in a recent blog post, 'this is classic infringement; there is no defense to this, at all.' But as Video Game History Foundation founder Frank Cifaldi tweeted, 'there is no alternative BUT piracy for, like, 99 percent of video game history' due to 'the completely abysmal job the video game industry has done keeping its games available.'
But what if there might be a middle ground that could thread the needle between the legality of original cartridges and the convenience of emulated ROMs? What if an online lending library, temporarily loaning out copies of ROMs tied to individual original cartridges, could satisfy the letter of the law and the interests of game preservation at the same time?
What if such a library already exists? In fact, it has for 17 years.
Meet Console Classix
Since 2001, Console Classix has marketed itself as 'the only emulation service that is 100 percent legal!' The site, and its associated Windows app, offers nearly instant access to thousands of emulated games from the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision era up through the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance. A free subscription tier lets users play games from the NES and earlier hardware, while complete access costs just $6 a month or $60 a year.
When it comes to providing simple, convenient access to a wide selection of classic games quickly and cheaply, Console Classix seems like a Spotify-style holy grail. What's more, site founder Aaron Ethridge says he's confident he's safe from the kinds of legal threats that have brought down ROM sites in the past.
'We talked to a lawyer before we even filed the paperwork to found the business,' Ethridge told Ars in a recent interview. 'After that, we contacted a law firm that specialized in copyright law to help us keep the hounds at bay.'
Part of what makes Console Classix different is that each of the site's available ROMs was ripped directly from one of over 7,000 actual cartridge in the company's possession—you can see thousands of those cartridges in this video from 2011. Just as importantly, Console Classix merely gives subscribers temporary access to those ROMs rather than the unlimited, permanent downloads common on ROM sites.
This is the conceit that Ethridge says makes it all legal, as summed up in an archived notice from 2007: 'Once a user has selected a game, our server locks that image so that no one else can use it. This ensures that we are never using more copies of a game than we own; that would be copyright infringement... We allow you to access our ROMs, but we don't distribute them.'
In other words, if there are four Console Classix users currently playing the site's four copies of Fester's Quest for the NES, other users have to wait until one of those players is done to loan it out themselves. In essence, Ethridge and Console Classix have simply digitized the process of serially loaning out a physical game cartridge to anyone who wants to use it, one person at a time.
'There is no ideological difference between our service and that of any common video rental store,' the Console Classix site says. 'We have simply taken a classic idea and brought it to the Web.'
Cease and desist? We’d rather not
Some in the industry have been quick to disagree with that sentiment over the years. In June 2001, just two weeks after Console Classix launched, the site received a letter from Nintendo of America insisting that 'all Nintendo ROMs published on the Internet are necessarily unauthorized and illegal.' The ROMs Console Classix had ripped may not be used 'for the purpose of acquiring financial gain,' Nintendo argued, meaning the site 'may be subject to criminal prosecution and civil liability.'
In his response to Nintendo, Ethridge argued back point blank that 'We are acting in full accordance with the law. We understand your determination to prevent software piracy. This was the very reason for our founding. We wish to provide a legal alternative for the retro-gaming community.'
The client-server architecture of the Console Classix software, Etheridge argued, is legally distinct from 'publishing' ROM images on the Internet. 'When a client requests a game image, the server places this image into the client random access memory (RAM),' he wrote. Since the client's RAM copy of the game is destroyed as soon as the client-server connection is broken, no illegal permanent 'distribution' of a ROM copy has occurred, Ethridge wrote.
'This application also ensures that no more copies of a software package are in use than are in our possession,' he wrote. 'We are also granted the right to lease copies of a software in our possession, provided we also ensure the customers' rights to the original software.'
In a 2006 interview with Vintage Computing and Gaming, Ethridge noted that Nintendo had failed to follow up on its letter in any way. 'After sending this reply, we heard nothing from them for about a week, so I called NOA,' he said. 'I was told that someone would contact me shortly... Since then we have had no other contact with Nintendo.'
A Nintendo representative did not respond to a request for comment on this matter from Ars Technica.
Security through obscurity?
While Ethridge told Ars that 'other people have threatened to sue us' over the years, he says Console Classix has never actually been taken to court. Part of that is likely due to the site's relatively low profile. After peaking at a few thousand paid subscriptions and five employees in the early '00s, Ethridge says Console Classix now only has 'hundreds' of paid users and the site only loans out 10 to 20 simultaneous ROMs across its catalog at peak times.
Back in 2014, Ethridge told Polygon that Console Classix had been 'the sole source of income for his family of eight for over a decade.' Today, though, Ethridge says he runs the site as a part-time solo side business while working as a network engineer and author by day.
That threadbare maintenance is starting to show, too. The Console Classix app uses multiple open-source emulators without much interface consistency between them, and this library-of-sorts has a bare bones frontend that looks very much like it was created by hobbyists nearly two decades ago. The Console Classix website, while functional, still sports a 2016 copyright notice, and associated Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages haven't been updated in years.
Ethridge says he hopes to do a 'major overhaul' of Console Classix and start adding more cartridges to its library in the next year. But he adds that 'in order to do things like they should be done, I would say at least one full-time employee would be necessary.'
Still, the relative obscurity these past 17 years has been beneficial for Ethridge in one sense. 'If Console Classix ever hit it super big, we would be sued,' Ethridge told Ars. 'We would win, but we would be sued.'
In any case, he thinks the industry has bigger fish to fry. 'There are countless pirate sites out there where you can just steal these games. Us offering them legally is a novelty.'
Many old PC games seem to work fine on Windows 10, but games using Microsoft’s failed Games for Windows LIVE (GFWL) platform are an exception. They’ll give you an error on Windows 10. You can remove GFWL from many games entirely, though, or just troubleshoot it and make it work properly.
Many games have abandoned GFWL, allowing you to redeem a non-GFWL copy or install a patch that removes GFWL. But not all of them have. For example, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City still use GFWL, as does Bethesda’s Fallout 3. These games are regularly promoted on Steam sales, so gamers will be stumbling onto GFWL for years to come.
Get a Non-GFWL Copy of the Game
RELATED:Why PC Gamers Hated Microsoft’s “Games for Windows LIVE”
![How To Use Steam Emulator Online How To Use Steam Emulator Online](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124870715/581313195.jpg)
Many games have migrated away from Microsoft’s PC gaming platform to Steam. If you purchased the game in the past–whether you bought a physical retail copy, digital download, or even a copy from Microsoft’s Games for Windows Marketplace–you can often convert that old GFWL-tainted copy to a modern one that will work properly.
The following games allow you to redeem them on Steam if you have a retail key or one provided by GFWL itself. These are big-name, big-budget games, and that’s no accident. Publishers and developers haven’t bothered removing GFWL from many older games that didn’t do so well.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Batman: Arkham City
- Bioshock 2
- Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
- Dead Rising 2
- Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
- DiRT 3
- Resident Evil 5
- Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
If you have a code for one of these games, you can redeem it on Steam. Install Steam and launch it. Click the “Games” menu, select “Activate a Product On Steam,” and enter the game’s product key to redeem it on Steam. The version Steam installs will be the latest one without GFWL.
Crack GFWL Out of the Game
Some of the bigger, more popular games have third-party tools that can effectively crack Games for Windows LIVE out of the game. These tools aren’t intended for piracy or cheating in multiplayer–in fact, they disable access to multiplayer if a game does contain multiplayer. They’re just intended for removing the hassle of GFWL. Such modifications aren’t available for every game–just particularly popular ones.
- Fallout 3: The Games for Windows Live Disabler from Nexus Mods will disable GFWL. FOSE, the Fallout Script Extender modding tool, also disables GFWL.
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The XLiveLess modification will remove GFWL from the game and ensure save games function properly. It also disables access to multiplayer features.
- Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City: XLiveLess functions for Episodes from Liberty City, too.
- Halo 2: XLiveLess for Halo 2 promises to remove GFWL from from Microsoft’s second Halo game, which Microsoft no longer supports or even sells.
- Red Faction: Guerilla: XLiveLess will also remove GFWL from the original version of this game. The latest versions of this game available on Steam no longer have GFWL, but old product keys for this game can’t be activated on Steam.
You may need a file extraction program like 7-Zip to extract these downloads. Follow the instructions in the download’s readme file to learn how to install whichever modification you downloaded and ensure it works properly.
Update Your GFWL Client Software
If you’re stuck playing a game that requires GFWL on modern versions of Windows and no alternative versions or cracks are available to help you disable them–or if you’d just like to use GFWL anyway–you can make GFWL function. Despite Windows 10’s assertion that Games for Windows LIVE isn’t compatible with modern versions of Windows, it can work.
The problem is that games that require GFWL include their own GFWL installers. When you install one of these games on a modern version of Windows, it installs an old version of GFWL that won’t function properly. Rather than attempting to update itself, GFWL will just fail to work properly without giving you any indication of what’s wrong and games won’t even launch or provide an error message.
To fix this problem, download the latest version of Games for Windows LIVE from Microsoft’s website and install it. After you install the latest version, GFWL-enabled games should launch and function. They may not work perfectly, of course. For example, we had to use the keyboard to navigate the GFWL interface in one particular game on Windows 10, as the mouse didn’t work properly. The “Tab” and “Enter” keys were essential for navigating the interface.
Create a Local Profile
![Steam Steam](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124870715/464917775.png)
You can avoid online-connectivity and syncing problems that can interfere with your gameplay by creating a local profile (in other words, an offline profile) rather than an online profile in GFWL. This will work for most games, although you’ll have to create an online profile if you want to use multiplayer features. This will also allow you to play GFWL-enabled games if you’re outside one of the 42 supported countries where GFWL and Xbox services are available. You’ll know if you are, because GFWL will show you an error message.
To do this, open the GFWL interface by pressing the “Home” button on your keyboard while in any GFWL-enabled game and choose “Create New Profile.” Scroll down on the Create Gamer Profile screen, click “Create a Local Profile,” and enter the details you want to use.
You’ll lose any save files if you do this while playing a game. Those save files are associated with your online profile if you’re already using one of those, so you’ll have to switch back to the other profile to regain access to your saves. This is best done when setting up GFWL for the first time.
Fix Online Connectivity Problems
If you’re having issues connecting to other players in GFWL games, you may be in some trouble. Microsoft no longer actively maintains this stuff and there’s no guarantee you’ll have a good experience even if you can connect, so just bear that in mind. We’ve had a lot of problems.
However, you can make online connectivity work by messing with your firewall settings. Microsoft recommends three things:
- Enable UPnP on your router. This allows GFWL to automatically forward the ports it requires to connect to other players. UPnP is a security concern, but you can always disable it when you’re done with the game.
- Open the following ports for both inbound and outbound traffic, if you don’t want to enable UPnP. You’ll have to allow these ports in any advanced firewall software you’re running. However, for most people, you’ll just need to forward these ports on your router. We recommend just using UPnP, but here are the ports GFWL requires: TCP port 3074, UDP port 88, and UDP port 3074.
- Allow the GFWL client through your firewall. If you’re using firewall software, ensure the GFWLClient.exe program found at C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Games for Windows LiveClient is allowed to communicate with both inbound and outbound connections.
That’s a good place to start, and should solve most issues–at least most solvable ones. Microsoft also provides a long guide to troubleshooting GFWL connection problems. Consult the official guide if you need more help.
For more information, check the List of Games for Windows – LIVE games list on the PC Gaming Wiki website. It provides an exhaustive list of GFWL-enabled games and the state of their support.
If you’re experiencing other problems, the PC Gaming Wiki website also offers a good article on troubleshooting more obscure GFWL errors that may bite you.
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